Level 99 Games

Saturday!
Saturday!
Saturday!
Umm... read that like Elton John.
Anyway, it's Saturday (if you hadn't noticed), so that means it's time to hang out and play some games. But it's also time for some reviews.

Today we have: Unearth, Zooscape, Moonquake Escape, Balloon Pop, Purrrlock Holmes, Neuroshima Hex: Death Breath, Deadline, The Butterfly Garden, Sagrada, Mow Money, Century: Spice Road, Slide Blast, Power Play, Monopoly Gamer, and Gang Rush: Breakout.



Toucan Play That Game:

Unearth Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Unearth by Brotherwise Games.

theMCGuiRE review:

Zooscape Review

theMCGuiRE review takes a look at Zooscape a game from TMG that offers fun for a larger group and fantastic artwork!! If you like animals or the zoo - I'm sure you will love this title.

Moonquake Escape Review

theMCGuiRE review takes a look at MoonQuake Escape a game from Breaking Games and designer Jeff Johnston. We are doing another giveaway on this title and you definitely want to get in on this one! With this giveaway you are getting the game, 8 buttons, and the promo pack!

So hide your alien and keep them under cover so you can make your way to the landing base and be the first to escape in the only rocket there is. This is a great family and game night title - pick it up, its fun!

Balloon Pop Review

theMCGuiRE review takes a look at Balloon Pop, a game from TMG. In this title you are simply rolling up to 5 dice and trying not to pop your balloon first - thus giving yourself a chance for the highest score in three rounds. This is a very quick 10 min game / filler and a fun recommendation.

Learn to Play:

Purrrlock Holmes Review

In this video I will teach you how to play including: Setup, player turn, game play breakdown, and end game conditions.

I will also give you my thoughts and opinions on the game, and would love to hear yours.

Board Game Quest:

Neuroshima Hex: Death Breath Review

The Death Breath army has a unique feel compared to the existing armies as there are quite a few new mechanisms added. Most importantly, when any of your units are killed, they go into a zombie pool. Your HQ has the ability to return units from your zombie pool to the battlefield after a battle. Many of your units have additional strength of initiative highlighted in green that activate only when they are returned in zombie form.

Additionally, some units have a charge ability that allows them to move into the space occupied by an opposing unit they defeat. This is extremely useful for units that activate in multiple initiatives as they can wipe out a whole line of enemies if things go your way.

Deadline Review

Once a case is chosen and each player has their detective card, they are ready to begin.

After reading the case description (usually a murder that needs to be solved), a number of clue cards will be accessible to the players. The current “chief detective” then chooses a clue card to begin the round. Each clue card will contain a number of symbols that must be matched to successfully reveal the backside of the clue.

The Butterfly Garden Review

Each round of a game, players will be looking at a hand of Butterfly cards, more Butterfly cards on the table, and Garden cards. At the start of the round, each player selects a Butterfly card from their hand to play. These cards indicate the turn order using a large number in the upper left of the card. They also show the number and type of butterflies the player will gain in their jar.

Sagrada Review

Sagrada is played over ten rounds, with each round made up of the following three steps:

The first player randomly draws dice from a dice bag and rolls them to establish the draft pool (two dice for each player plus one)
Starting with the first player, players may perform each of the following actions in any order (NOTE: Turn order is in a snake draft pattern):
Draft a die from the draft pool and place the die in his window
Use a tool card which allows the use of special abilities, but for a price (favor tokens)
After the first player has taken their second turn, the round is over

The next round starts with the next player clockwise. After ten rounds, the game is over and the final scores are calculated based on:

Public objectives
Private objective
Favor tokens remaining
Negative points for each open space in their window

The player with the most points wins.

Mow Money Review

At the start of the game, players will first set up the neighborhoods and contract cards. Players will then get all of their starting bits and lawn mower. Once they draw five basic bid cards and collect their three bluff cards the game can begin.

iSlaytheDragon:

Century: Spike Road Review

Century: Spice Road is an engine-building resource-conversion game for two to five players. Players are spice merchants along the spice road, seeking to produce and trade the spices necessary to fulfill contracts. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Slide Blast Review

The object of Slide Blast is to build the longest waterslide for your meeple to slide down. Or, in game terms, to build a slide that covers the most tiles and thus earns you the most victory points.

You’ll build your slide by placing tiles and connecting flumes. This is easy-peasy. You will begin the game with one tile in hand. When it’s your turn, draw a tile from one of the tile decks so that you have two tiles in hand to choose from. Place your chosen tile so that it extends your slide and then move your meeple to the end of your slide. Now it’s the next person’s turn.

Power Play Review

Power Play is a unique narrative game that combines the freedom of an RPG with the simplified rules, structures, and goals of a board game. It also happens to be competitive.

I’ve been mulling over this game for a long time, trying to figure out what to say about it. It’s not necessary a bad game; it’s playable, and definitely possible to have fun with. I just wonder that it might be stuck between two worlds, unable to find a real audience except for a small niche.

Drive Thru Review:

Monopoly Gamer Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:52); final thoughts and review (14:23)

Board to Death TV:

Gang Rush: Breakout Review

When the members of the underworld start to cross the bridge that leads to their headquarters, nobody knows who will reach the other side. Dash, crash, and cash in Gang Rush Breakout — whoever meets the Godfather with the most loot wins!

And we've made it to another weekend. I'm sure a lot of you are up at the LGS, trying out 8th Edition 40k. But between those games and talking about all the stuff you're going to do with your army, here's the regular grouping of reviews that I know you all love so much.

Today we have: Small World, Galactic Warlord Battle For Dominion, Dice Hospital, Shahrazad, Dark Souls, Bushido, Dungeon Crawler The Thorn Expansion, Star Trek: Ascendancy, VS 2PCG Legacy Expansion, Alchemists The King’s Golem Expansion, Super Dungeon Explore Arena, Terra Mystica App, Tomb Trader, Jaipur App, Bio-Logic, Dragon Tower, Gnomi, and Zombie Tower 3D.



Toucan Play That Game:

Small World Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Small World by Days of Wonder.

Galactic Warlords Battle for Dominion Preview

In this paid video you can find out about Galactic Warlords Battle for Dominion by Archona Games.

Dice Hospital Overview

An overview of Dice Hospital from designer Mike Nudd, recorded live at UK Games Expo 2017.

theMCGuiRE review:

Shahrazad Review

theMCGuiRE review takes a look at Shahrazad, a new board game from Osprey Games. In this quick solo and 2-player experience you will lay tiles to build the best story for the King as possible. Be careful as if you place the tiles in the wrong location - it will be a weak story-line for you.

Learn to Play:

Dark Souls

In this video I will teach you how to play including: component breakdown, player and board setup, encounter setup, enemy turn, player turn, boss setup, boss movement and combat, secondary setup.
I will also give you my thoughts and opinions on the game.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

Bushido Miniatures Game Review

I’m standing here, what feels like a katana in my chest, the bodies of my soldiers piled around me. I’m standing here defeated and absolutely delighted, a big grin on my face, trying to figure out what it’s doing there.

That was the end of my second play of Bushido by GCT Games – the actual impaling being only metaphorical, if you’re the queasy sort, but the defeat and delight being real. From my first encounter, what intrigued me about Bushido was that I found it immensely pleasurable even when I lost horribly. Let me try to explain why.

If the name and picture don’t make it apparent, Bushido is a tabletop skirmish game set in a world inspired by Japanese folklore, or at least a western, Tolkein-filtered riff on Japanese folklore. Elves and Dwarves are replaced by Tengu and Oni, the heroes include snake-people and warrior pandas, and the outfits look like the result of a raid on a Kurosawa film’s prop closet. All in the best possible way.

Play Board Games:

Dungeon Crawler The Thorn Expansion Review

The Thorn is the second small box expansion for Dungeon Crawler. It adds 82 new cards to the game.

This increases the challenge and gives you more options for building your deck.

Tales from the Yawning Portal Review

Tales from the Yawning Portal updates seven of the deadliest dungeons for 5th Edition Dungeon and Dragons.

You can run these as is or just borrow from them for your homebrew game.

Star Trek Ascendancy Review

Star Trek Ascendancy is a 4X game full of space exploration and conflict in the Star Trek universe

VS 2PCG Legacy Expansion Review

Legacy is the third expansion for the VS 2PCG series. It adds new characters, plot twists and main characters for every released faction.

Alchemists The King’s Golem Expansion Review

The King’s Golem expansion adds a few different modules to the Alchemists board game. You can choose which to add to your game depending how much you want to change the base game.

Super Dungeon Explore Arena Review

Super Dungeon Explore Arena is an expansion that changes this game from a cooperative dungeon crawl to a two-player skirmish.

Terra Mystica App Review

Terra Mystica is an area control board game that is now available as an app for Android and iOS.

iSlaytheDragon:

Tomb Trader Review

In Tomb Trader, you play as an adventurer on the hunt for treasure. Over a series of rounds, you’ll engage in intense negotiations with the other players in order to split the treasure cards amongst yourselves. If you can gather the most valuable treasure by the end of the game, you’ll emerge victorious.

Jaipur App Review

Jaipur is a trading card game for two players. “Trading for two? How does that make sense?” You say. Not an unfounded question.

It works by putting a set of 5 cards in the center of the table – that’s the Market. Technically, you trade with the market, not the other player. However, anything you put on the market naturally becomes available to the other player.

Board Game Quest:

Bio-Logic Preview

Players in Bio-Logic are one of six foreign bodies invading a human: Amoeba, Virus, Parasite, Bacteria, Prion or ASP (Autonomous Strike Personnel – nanobots). Whose body it is doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that the player who improves the strength, resilience, and infection power of their invader enough will be able to survive a final battle against other invaders. The player whose infector wins the battle, wins the game.

Dragon Tower Review

In Dragon Tower, players must work together to rescue the princess from her prison tower. The game is actually played in two parts, with the first part having players build up a scaffolding alongside the tower. Once that is built, they must then quickly, and carefully, retrieve the princess before the dragon destroys all their hard work. If they can get the princess back to her carriage before the tower collapses, they’ll enjoy a shared victory.

Gnomi Review

Gnomi revolves around players controlling what appears to be a family of gnomes harvesting a specific group of mushrooms. Players use their mushrooms and gnome powers to steal mushrooms from one another. Once only one player remains with cards that can be activated, that player wins.

Zombie Tower 3D Review

In Zombie Tower 3D, you’re trapped in a building filled with zombies and you’ll be trying to save survivors, find various items, and, of course, escape. To make matters worse, the building is collapsing and limiting where characters can go. Players are not able to see the other characters are but you can talk and pass item cards through small gaps in the rubble. If all players are able to meet the escape conditions, then they all escape and have survived. The real winner though is the player with the highest VP from survivors and the Minor Objective Cards.

One of the most famous 8-bit warriors of all time is Mega Man. He's been running through dungeons, fighting off robotic foes for Dr. Light for decades. One of the most famous pixel-based card games is Pixel Tactics. The game's been around for 4 years and has 9 different sets. Now, the two are teaming up to bring you Mega Man Pixel Tactics. It's up on Kickstarter now.




The set comes in two boxes. Each one's a fully complete game in and of itself, but you can combine the two to create even larger and varied match-ups. The Blue Box covers characters from Mega Man 1-3, while the Red Box has characters from Mega Man 4-6.

The Kickstarter campaign is going well. It's more than 2x funded with still 18 days left on the clock.

Source

Congratulations! You've made it to Saturday! *throws a little party*
Mine's been busy so far. We're just a couple weeks out from Gen Con, and that means about a million little things to get done (along with a couple big things) before heading to the show. My "To Do" list is imposing, but with steady work, I'll chew through it all.
*looks at list* Hmm, "Type up Review Roundup."
Alrighty...

Today we have: Sugi, Stak Bots, Food Fighters, Infinity Combined Army Onyx Force, Galaxy Defenders: Operation Strikeback Expansion, SET, Dragonwood, Millennium Blades, Beyond Baker Street, Dark Dealings, America, Fate of the Elder Gods, Burano, Happy Party, and My Village.



Toucan Play That Game:

Sugi Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Sugi by GDM Games.

Stak Bots Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Stak Bots by Dogeared Games.

Food Fighters Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Food Fighters by Kids Table Board gaming.

Brueckenkopf Online:

Infinity Combined Army Onyx Force Unboxing

The team of Brueckenkopf Online takes a look at the new Onyx combat force for Infinity.

Play Board Games:

Galaxy Defenders: Operation Strikeback Expansion Review

Operation Strikeback is an expansion for Galaxy Defenders it adds more powerful aliens, better tech for the players and a few new mechanics.

Board Game Quest:

SET and Dragonwood Review (Editor's Note: I LOVE SET!)

SET is the “The Family Game of Visual Perception” originally published in 1988 by SET Enterprises for ages 6+. The name of the game says it all. You are creating sets of 3 cards that have all of the same attributes OR all different attributes. Sounds pretty easy until you see that the cards each have 4 different attributes – Symbols, Colors, Numbers and Shading, and that all 4 of the attributes have to be the same or different. You can’t have 2 cards that are green and 1 that is purple. You have to have all of the cards the same color or all of the different colors. The same goes for the rest of the attributes in a set.

Millennium Blades Review

Millennium Blades is a game in which you and your opponents play the fictional CCG game Millennium Blades. Don’t worry though, everything you need to play Millennium Blades is in the box, there is no money sink on booster packs here.

Drive Thru Review:

Beyond Baker Street Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:17); final thoughts and review (09:31)

Dark Dealings Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:10); final thoughts and review (10:53)

America Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:06); final thoughts and review (08:04)

Fate of the Elder Gods Kickstarter Preview



iSlaytheDragon:

Gender Role Selection (A Review of Burano)

Players in Burano lead prominent local families directing their clan’s productive and domestic affairs. While cooperatively building one of the more famously colorful communities in the world in the process, each patriarch/matriarch earns points by sending out men to do men’s work – like fishing – and women to do women’s work – like sewing. It’s the rules, so remember, don’t shoot the reviewer.

I Was Told There’d Be Cake (a review of Happy Party)

Happy Party is a dexterity/memory game for two to four players. Players roll dice and blow out cake candles to collect presents for their wish list. The first player to complete his or her wish list is the winner.

Where’s the Taxes? (A Review of My Village)

Each player will be charged with the care and growth of an idyllic village with the goal of creating a town to be remembered for generations to come. You’ll be training your villagers in various professions, selling wares, farming the land, and constructing various religious and civic buildings. Death of your villagers, either via rat infestations or old fashioned time, will need to be monitored in order to make sure everything runs smoothly. You begin the game with six trained villagers and a handful of coins in order to achieve greatness. Moment to moment achievements are less important than ones that will last for generations. A church building that will last for years grants prestige points, whereas minor achievements only grant story points that need to be actively converted into prestige points.

Saaaatuuuuuuurrrdaaaaaaaaaay!
Saturday of a long weekend, too. All. The. Bonus!

But that doesn't mean I'm going to shirk my duties. You want your review articles, and I'm here to give them to you.

So I present to you: Who Knew, Everdawn, Flick 'Em Up, Night of Man, Ra, Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization, Tyrants of the Underdark, VIII Corps: The Somme 1916, Wombat Rescue, Nefarious, Apotheca: The Secret Potion Society, Back to the Future: An Adventure Through Time, Dungeon Time, Bear Valley, and Millennium Blades.



Toucan Play That Game:

Who Knew Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Who Knew by DoYouKnowMyGame.com.

Everdawn Review

In this video you can find out my thoughts on Everdawn TCG.

Gettin' Higgy With It:

Flick 'Em Up Review

We take a look at the dexterity game, Flick'em Up, by Gaëtan Beaujannot and Jean Yves Monpertuis. Distributed by Pretzel Games. Flick'em Up is for 2-10 players, age 8+ and takes about 45 minutes per game.

The Board Game Show:

Night of Man Review

Do you think the future looks dark? I’m not talking about the presumed candidates for the U.S. presidency. I’m talking about the year 2034. That’s a short 18 years away, and do you know what happens? For one, that’s when dogs and cats start living together. What I really mean is aliens attack and wipe out billions of people. Don’t worry, there’s always a silver lining. It’s a wargame called Night of Man from Flying Pig Games, and everything is starting to look a little brighter.

Play Board Games:

Ra Review

Ra is an auction and set collection board game with a bit of press your luck. If you bid wisely and get lucky you can win.

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Review

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is the latest edition of this civ-building board game. It brings changes to both the aesthetics and mechanics of this highly rated game.

Gale Force Nine:

Tyrants of the Underdark Unboxing

Take a look at the components inside Tyrants of the Underdark, the new board game from Wizards of the Coast and Gale Force 9.

Meeples & Miniatures:

VIII Corps: The Somme 1916 Review

VIII Corps: The Somme 1916 is the first in a series of games written by Neal Reid and published by Vexillia Limited.

VIII Corps is a card game, currently available in PDF ‘print and play’ format, which is designed to give the players some appreciation of the difficulties faced by VIII Corps on the first day of the Battle of the Somme as the British 4th, 29th and 31st Divisions attacked the villages of Beaumont Hamel, Serre and the Heidenkopf Redoubt.

The game consists of 77 cards, which are divided into 9 Terrain cards, 39 British & 29 German Cards.

iSlaytheDragon:

That Dingo’s Not Eating My Baby! (A Review of Wombat Rescue)

You are a mama wombat and the mean dingo has come along and scared your babies! They’ve run away from the burrow and are hiding somewhere in the environment. You’re going to have to eat, digest your food, and then poop cubes in order to create smell areas so you can navigate to find your babies and bring them home. The player who plans and poops most efficiently will win the game. Non-poopy translation: It’s a pick up and deliver game with some route building tossed in about getting your baby wombats back to the burrow using cubes as route markers.

Despicable We (A Review of Nefarious)

The goal is simple: take over the world. In game terms this means getting 20 points. You will have 4 actions available to you in order to accomplish that goal. Every round begins with all players secretly choosing an action card that corresponds to the action they’d like to take. Once everyone has selected their card, they are all revealed simultaneously. Before any of the actions are resolved, players receive income if they have spies on the actions chosen by their neighbors. If you have a spy on the espionage action, for example, and your neighbor revealed an espionage action card, you will receive $1. After all players receive their income the actions are carried out in the following order: Espionage, Invent, Research, and Work.

Make Me a Match (A Review of Apotheca: The Secret Potion Society)

In Apotheca players are apprentices trying to impress master apothecaries at the market’s testing grounds. Using a Match-3 style mechanism – albeit sans cascading explosions – and action selection, your goal is to arrange three or more same-colored potion tiles in a linear or special pattern. You can enlist the help of legendary tradecrafters to employ special abilities that aid your concoctions – or mess with your opponents! Complete three matches to win the game and earn your mortar and pestle. We previewed the game during its Kickstarter campaign so you can reference that article for the game’s specific rules.

Board Game Quest:

Back to the Future: An Adventure Through Time Review

In Back to the Future, players will be moving the DeLorean throughout three timelines (1955, 1985, 2015) from the movies. Each turn, players will be selecting roles, playing character cards to their timeline, and resolving ripple effects. As players place the right characters at the right moments in time, they will earn victory points for completing events before the other players can. After enough events have been completed, the victory points are calculated and the player with the most points is the winner.

Dungeon Time Preview

Dungeon Time is played over two phases. In the first half of the game, players are working together to play missions and item cards into a communal stack. Players have exactly 5 minutes to complete as many missions as possible.

Once the time expires, players move on to the resolution phase, where they see how they did. Hopefully they played their cards correctly and were able to complete enough missions to win!

Drive Thru Review:

Bear Valley Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:10); final thoughts and review (13:02)

Millennium Blades Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:15); final thoughts and review (16:15);

I, as I mentioned in my post yesterday, am more-than-likely playing 2nd edition D&D when this will be posted to the site.
Some friends I know have a long-running campaign and the DM is writing me in as an occasionally-recurring NPC. Not sure what my character will be (at time of typing), but it should be a good time.

Anyway, that's as may be. Right now, it's time for some game reviews.

In this batch, we have reviews/previews of: Boss Monster 2, Dark City 30 Corner Apartment Building and Gargoyles, Golem Arcana, The Great War, Apotheca, Lord of the Rings board game, Hocus, Paradox, Kaleidoscope, Infinity, Penny Press, Argonauts, Argent: The Consortium, and Star Wars Armada.



The Meeple Mechanic:

Boss Monster 2 Review

Today we take a look at Boss Monster 2 by Brotherwise Games. This game was actually recently fulfilled after funding and one of our review team wanted to get a review out.

Graven Games:
Dark City 30 Corner Apartment Building and Gargoyles Review

Time to build some Dark City 30 terrain! Dark City 30 is a range of laser-cut flat pack terrain suitable for 25-28mm tabletop wargames and skirmish games such as Warhammer 40k or the Batman Miniatures Game. This is a newly designed range from Multiverse Gaming and from the preview photos we’ve seen, this is going to be some great beautiful terrain for our games.

Play Board Games:

Golem Arcana Review

Golem Arcana is a tactical miniatures game that uses an app to apply rules, build armies and track game state.

Model Dads:

Plastic Soldier Company’s The Great War boardgame

Model Dads pack up our troubles by casting a strategic eye over The Plastic Soldier Company‘s new World War I board wargame, The Great War.

iSlaytheDragon:

Potent Puzzles (A Preview of Apotheca)

Dealing with black magic, mysterious arts and secret spells has always been a risky profession. So of course you want to be a part of it. Well this is your day! The Apothecaries, a secret society of potion concocting luminaries, have organized a contest in a search for new blood. But is it in search of fresh inspiration? Or to lure unwitting disciples into their game of dark machinations?

It was a long journey to Mordor, I’m Gladriel made it (A Review of The Lord of The Rings)

With The Lord of the Rings game, you allow yourself to get swept off with Frodo on his famous adventure to Mount Doom. You will battle through some of the most iconic events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and take on the responsibility of the destruction of the One Ring. If you succeed, Middle Earth is saved. If you fail, all of Middle Earth is doomed to darkness. Are you up for the challenge?

Wizard’s Wager (a preview of Hocus)

What is a card game worthy of the wizards in your life? Some might say Cribbage, or even Canasta. Poker can be an interesting diversion, if the wizards don’t cheat, but keeping wizards honorable is a difficult task, especially when money and prestige are on the line. And besides, the wizards I know tend to prefer something more…exotic. Something that gives them more control over their actions. Something that lets them use their magical prowess to alter the flow of the game in their favor.

In a word, they prefer Hocus.

A Matter of Time (A Preview of Paradox)

Time. They say we have it to kill and to burn. Yet it also flies. We waste it, but it also passes us by before we know it. It heals all wounds and eventually reveals all secrets, but when you lose it you never get it back. It’s the most valuable thing we can spend, but it stalks us like a predator because ours is limited. Time is a curse…and a tool. It is money. It governs our existence and orders our lives. But what if everything you understood about time was shattering the universe…?

Shut Up & Sit Down:

RPG Review: Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a game that brings you all the joy and frustration of discussing an opaque foreign art film, without actually having to sit through one. You and your friends invent the details of a fictitious movie in the same time or less than it would have taken to watch.

But how? you ask. I'll tell you how!

Miniatures Game Review: Infinity

In the coming months I'll be serving as your guide to the dark world of tabletop miniatures gaming. More than that, I'll be trying to tell you what makes the very best ones sing – what about each one makes them unique, and why people spend huge amounts of money and even larger amounts of time assembling and painting little soldiers.

Up first, let's take a gander at Infinity, the phenomenal flagship game of Corvus Belli.

And I do mean take a gander – before anything else is said, just look at those sexy, sexy models.

Board to Death TV:

Penny Press Preview

Set during the tumultuous ‘yellow journalism’ years at the end of the 19th century, Penny Press has players taking on the role of newspaper magnates such as Pulitzer and Hearst as they strive to become the dominant paper in old New York City.

Players move up on the circulation track throughout the game by publishing newspapers, and they are awarded bonuses at the end of the game for best covering the five news ‘beats’ or leading news categories of the day: War, Crime & Calamity, New York City, Politics, and the Human Condition.

Argonauts preview

Argonauts is a cooperative game that requires careful strategic planning and just a bit of luck, as even the best laid plans, can fall victim to the wrath of the Gods. The game’s objectives are to acquire the Golden Fleece and return safely to Iolkos without losing Argo or too many members of her crew. Each player controls heroes that participated in the Argonaut campaign, each with his / her own set of skills and special abilities. Following the journey from the myth, the Argonauts must face mythical monsters like Scylla and Harybdis, Harpies, Sirens, the construct Talos and the dragon guarding the Fleece, not to mention the perilous journey full of lethal encounters with merciless pirates or having to weather destructive thunderstorms all the while making sure their cargo hold is well stocked with the necessary supplies for the journey to and from Kolchis and their ship sea-worthy.

Board Game Quest:

Argent: The Consortium Review

As I previously mentioned in my review of Deadwood, I love worker placement games. As I also stated in my Deadwood review, I hate when people take my action in a worker placement game. I understand that the point of a worker placement game often includes action denial. I just do not like it when it happens to me…

When I heard that one of my favorite game publishers, Level 99 Games, was creating a worker placement game that is set in the fantasy universe of The World of Indines (BattleCON, Pixel Tactics) and pitted competing schools of magic against each other to be elected as Chancellor of Argent University, I was immediately interested in the game. That game is Argent: The Consortium.

Argent: The Consortium is a worker placement game for two to five players that plays between 30 and 45 minutes per player.

Polyhedron Collider:

Star Wars Armada Review

Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game is quite possible one of my favourite games of all time. Not only did it beautifully capture the look and feel of the Star Wars films that have been my geek passion for years, they also managed to skilfully capture the dogfighting and manoeuvring aspect of the attack on the Death Star in A New Hope (or just Star Wars when I first saw it).

When Wizkids took the same system and transferred it to Star Trek, to me, it just didn’t feel right. X-Wing was about dog fighting, Star Fleet should be about careful manoeuvring of massive dreadnoughts. Well Fantasy Flight Games have done it again because Star Wars Armada takes the space battles from my favourite space opera films and scales it up so we can now blast each other with Star Destroyers.

If X-Wing was the new hope Death Star attack, then Star Wars Armada is the major offence on the Death Star from Return of the Jedi. It takes the scale up to frigates and capital ships but never forgets the ease that made X-Wing so fast and deadly.

Level 99 Games takes a humorous look at the culture of CCGs with their new board game, Millennium Blades, that's up on Kickstarter now. The game focus on a group of friends that play Millennium Blades, a fictional CCG in their world that has been around for thousands of years. Players take on the persona of players of this fictional CCG on pre-release night for a new expansion. You start out with just a standard starter deck. Then you buy packs and trade cards, selling off the ones you don't want in order to get new packs and build the ultimate deck.
The campaign is more than 1.5x funded with still 16 days to go.

From the campaign:

Millennium Blades is a board game about a fictional collectible card game, which is also called Millennium Blades. You begin the game on pre-release night with just your starter deck. You’ll open new packs, form collections, and sell your junk cards on the aftermarket to buy hot new cards. Trade with your friends, build up your deck, and prepare to compete at Millennium Blades Worlds for the title of World Champion!

We’ve all been touched by the magic of Collectible Card Games—from the thrill of opening packs and discovering that ultra-rare card, to the excitement of waiting on pre-release night to see what hidden gems a new set holds, to the tension of sitting with baited breath to see your opponent’s play in the final round of the tournament. Millennium Blades captures that magic and distills it down to a single-game session.

Card Games create their own world and their own culture for us to explore, and continue to reward players who delve deeper and deeper into these worlds. These games are about discovery, social interaction, and fun–what could be a better topic to use as the basis for a board game!?

Now, after 2 years of continuous development, spanning over 20 major revisions, we're finally ready to bring Millennium Blades to life!

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It's another Saturday. Hopefully you've got something fun going on.

Anyway, here's the reviews we found during the week (it was apparently a big week for posting reviews. There's quite a lot to go through).

We've got reviews/previews of: Chaos & Alchemy, Fields of Arle, High Command - Escalating Conflict, Sellswords, War Stories, Trains: Rising Sun, Kalypto, 7 sins, Hitman Holiday, Amber Route, Twisting Catacombs Dungeon Scenery, M4 Sherman from Warlord Games/Italeri, Trikerion: Legends of Illusion, Games Workshop's Wood Elf Treeman, Sisters of the Thorn, Dark Eldar Voidraven Bomber, and the Zen Terrain Fast Food Stall.



Polyhedron Collider:

Chaos & Alchemy Review

Whoever gave Chaos & Alchemy its name was right on the mark, Alchemy sums up the theme and aim of the game whereas chaos sums up how the game plays, complete and utter chaos.

Play Board Games:

Fields of Arle Review

Fields of Arle is a solo or two-player worker placement game. It is full of ways to score VPs with just a few constraints.

High Command - Escalating Conflict Review

Escalating Conflict is the first expansion for Warmachine: High Command – Faith & Fortune. It adds new warriors and war casters for the new factions from the Faith & Fortune Core Set.

Board Game Quest:

Sellswords Review

evel 99 Games has made a name for itself with their really creative two player games. From BattleCON to Pixel Tactics, these games all have an intense head-to-head feel that really appeal to players who love conflict. In the past, we’ve reviewed a few of their Pixel Tactics games, which are tons of fun and a game that I’m always willing to play. Today, we are going to spend some time with their newest 2 player card game, Sellswords. Level 99 Games bills Sellswords as a game where you “Take to the field of battle in intense head-to-head contest of wits and strategy”. Sellswords definitely has a lighter feel than their other 2 players games. The game feels unique, the rules are easy, but is it fun? Let’s find out!

Sellswords is a 2 player drafting and tile placement game that takes about 15-20 minutes to play.

Top 10 Games That Play in 30min

Whenever I schedule a game night, the first thing I think about it what games can we play in the allotted time. Do we want to play an all-night game like War of the Ring or play a bunch of shorter games with different experiences? I usually opt for the shorter games because I like to introduce and play many different games, rather than just one lengthy one. I also tend to go for at least a few games that the attendees know how to play. Then I can just go through a refresher of the rules, rather than a full blown rules explanation. It’s for this reason that I decided to put together the Top 10 Games That Play in 30 Minutes.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

War Stories Review

You're a platoon sergeant, patrolling the Normandy hedgerows in 1944. Suddenly, a burst of automatic fire opens up from the treeline. You don't know what it is: it could be a machine gun, or a tank. It could be a lone rifleman, or the forward elements of an enemy brigade. Each demands a different course of action, and your life, and those of your men, depend on your picking the right one. What do you do?

Trains: Rising Sun Review

Bad news, readers. Our efforts to appease the grand old month of Expansionanuary seem to be for naught. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting darker. It’s now so cold in my flat that the carpet crunches underfoot.

We must have faith that this will end, friends. Unless the rumours are true, and this is indeed the year of twenty fifspansion.

It’s a possibility too horrid to contemplate. In the meantime, we will stay the course. Here’s a review of Trains: Rising Sun.

Board to Death:

Kalypto Card Game Review

Kalypto™ is an action strategy card game developed by Hyroglyphik Games, an independent game company based in Montreal, Canada.

7 Sins Card Game preview

In the card game 7Sins!, players try to get away with the most sinning. This is done by scoring the most Sin points. The twist is that the person who has the most points of each sin does not score those points, but everyone else does.

Hitman Holiday Preview

From the Creators: Ten assassins gathered in one resort. Only one gets to be called the Number One Killer. Enough said.
Hitman Holiday is game of deduction and strategy where as many as up to 10 players take on the roles of ten of the deadliest assassins mankind has ever known. Gathered at the world’s most beautiful resort, otherwise known as Paradise, they are out to play a game of death in a bid to eliminate competition in business as well as claim the much coveted title of Number One.

Amber Route Review

Amber Route is a journey to the land of Slavic beliefs, monsters and magic. In this game full of surprises, you will embark on a dangerous adventure, leading your caravan through the uncharted territories. At every step you will face lurking evil creatures, traps, and ancient magic. Plan your moves carefully, protect your ambers, expand your retinue, and try to reach the destination as quick as possible.
In this game you must take care of your escort, ambers, and power cards — all while keeping an eye on your opponents. During course of the game, you will encounter monsters, ghost, deadly traps, thieves, and other sorts of evil. All encounters are resolved via dice, but each is resolved in a different way.

Graven Games:

Twisting Catacombs Dungeon Scenery Review

Welcome to today’s review in which we are having a look at some of the new Twisted Catacombs Dungeon Scenery from Zealot Miniatures. The Twisting Catacombs are part of Zealot’s recently successfully funded kickstarter campaign that focused on a range of highly detailed dungeon scenery compatible with an array of boardgames and RPG games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Heroquest, Dwarven Forge Terrain and other systems using 28mm-30mm scale miniatures.

Miniwojna:

M4 Sherman Review

Inbox of plastic 28mm scale (1:56) model of Sherman M4 75 mm model, which is a joint effort of Warlord Games and Italeri companies. Polish and English text, many photos.

Club Fantasci:

Trikerion: Legends of Illusion Review

Christopher Dickinson reviews the upcoming Kickstarter game Trickerion for Club Fantasci.

Brueckenkopf:

Games Workshop's Wood Elf Treeman Review

Time for a trip to the woods! The team of Brueckenkopf Online takes a closer look at the plastic treeman kit by games workshop.

Sisters of the Thorn Review

The team of Brueckenkopf Online ventures even deeper into the woods and today we show you the Sisters of the Thorn / Wild Hunters kit by Games Workshop.

Dark Eldar Voidraven Bomber Review

Spaaaaaaaace! And a shiny Dark Eldar flyer on our desk.

Warhammer Putrid Blightkings

Nurgle time at Brueckenkopf Online. We take a look at the new Putrid Blightkings.

Zen Terrain Fast Food Stall

The team of Brueckenkopf Online takes a closer look at the new sci-fi terrain range from ZEN Terrain.

Level 99 Games is running a Kickstarter campaign for their new Pixel Tactics Deluxe box set. For those that don't know, Pixel Tactics is a card game that brings the feel of old, 8-bit RPG games to the tabletop.

The box comes with two starter decks, a play mat, rulebook, and all the tokens required to play. The box it comes in is big enough to hold all that, plus several expansions worth of cards (sleeved or not).

The campaign was looking to get $30k. They're close to $100k (if not having broken that already, by time of posting). There's still 25 days left on the clock to check it out if you're interested.

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From the campaign:

Pixel Tactics is a 2-player card game that captures the tactical strategy of games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Disgaea, Soul Nomad, or Fire Emblem in card game format. Battles take about 30 minutes to play, and each game is vastly different, due to the powerful influence of Leaders over gameplay!

? In this project, we want to print a big starter box for Pixel Tactics, called Pixel Tactics Deluxe! This large box contains everything for two players to play the game: cards, rules, punch tokens, and extra storage space for all the other Pixel Tactics games in print (sleeved or unsleeved)! Designed for both new players and veterans alike, Pixel Tactics Deluxe is a complete game on its own, and also combines with other Pixel Tactics games to form a larger set, with which you can play many of the over 7 new play modes introduced in the game!

If you already have other Pixel Tactics Games, there's plenty to look forward to: All 25 heroes in Pixel Tactics Deluxe are completely new!

Board Game Quest took a look at Pixel Tactics 3 from Level 99 Games and gives you their thoughts on the subject.



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From the article:

Tony has been selfishly reviewing the excellent Pixel Tactic game series for Board Game Quest for almost a year now. He has previously reviewed both Pixel Tactics (PT1) (which I would recommend reading if you have not previously read the review), as well as the newer Pixel Tactics 2 (PT2).

I have taken the responsibility of reviewing Pixel Tactics 3, the newest offering in the Pixel Tactics universe, away from Tony. I know, I know, it is a tough job…well, actually, in no way is it a tough job. I quite enjoy doing reviews, and I, similar to Tony, quite enjoyed both PT1 and PT2. I felt it was time another reviewer at Board Game Quest stepped up and provide his thoughts on Pixel Tactics. So how is Pixel Tactics 3? Read on to find out!

Pixel Tactics 3 is a (primarily) two player tactical card battling game that plays in about 20 minutes (or up to 60 minutes if you play best out of three).

Board Game Quest sat down with Brad Talton Jr. of Level 99 Games and had a little chat. Go see what they talked about.



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From the interview:

A little while ago I had a chance to pick the brain of game designer and publisher Brad Talton Jr. Brad is the founder and publisher of Level 99 Games, a game company that has been putting out many quality game releases lately. In addition to running Level 99 Games, Brad is also a game designer. Some of his more notable titles include: BattleCON, Mystic Empyrean, and Pixel Tactics (which we recently reviewed). I had a few minutes to ask Brad some questions about being a publisher, a game designer and running campaigns on Kickstarter. I hope you enjoy this bit of insight into Level 99 Games.

Board Game Quest has posted up another of their game reviews. This one's for Pixel Tactics.



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From the review:

Pixel Tactics, from Level 99 Games, was originally introduced in their Mini Game Library back in 2012. This game turned out to be a surprise hit for them and recently they have broken out Pixel Tactics into it’s own product line (with expansions). Is this highly tactical game worthy of its solo breakout? Read on to find out!

Pixel Tactics is a Tactical Placement and Hand Management card game for 2 players. Pixel Tactics can be played in about 30-45 minutes.